Competency hearing in motorcyclist's death

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 10:00 AMJan 29, 2013 at 9:11 PM

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Superior Court Judge Janet Kenton-Walker took under advisement arguments Tuesday as to whether a Milford man, in the country illegally from Ecuador, was competent to stand trial in the death of a Milford motorcyclist 17 months ago.

A status review hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Nicholas Dutan Guaman, 35, faces charges of second-degree murder, drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, driving without a license and reckless endangerment of a child, among other charges. He allegedly drove through a stop sign in Milford on Aug. 20, 2011, hitting 23-year-old Matthew Denice and dragging him under his Ford F-150 truck for a quarter mile before he stopped for police.

The competency hearing had been delayed several times because of difficulties finding a certified court interpreter who spoke Quechua, a dialect spoken in rural Ecuador.

Peter Ettenberg, Mr. Guaman's lead lawyer, said his focus would be on demonstrating that Mr. Guaman doesn't understand the concept of the legal process.

Prosecuting Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey T. Travers said Mr. Guaman was mentally stable and the tests used by the defense to prove that Mr. Guaman wasn't competent were based on normal Spanish-speaking Americans.

“The defendant is not that,” he said, although “he successfully lived the life of an American,” by working and raising a family.

Testifying for the prosecution, Hanya H. Bluestone, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology and works in the state Department of Mental Health's forensics division, said Mr. Guaman has gaps in understanding the legal process, but his deficits are related to his cultural background, his language, his lack of exposure to the legal process and his limited formal education.

Ms. Bluestone said that, in her opinion, Mr. Guaman could proceed with proper support from an interpreter and his lawyer who could guide him through the legal system.

Mr. Guaman did not show signs of mental illness or lingering effects, other than deafness in his right ear, from a concussion suffered from a fall while working on a roof in 2005, she said. She assessed his intelligence level as low-average to average.

Ms. Bluestone based her evaluation on her interview with Mr. Guaman and reviews of his medical records, previous exams and psychological tests. Her interview was conducted with an interpreter who spoke Quechua.

Mr. Guaman, one of 11 siblings, had two years of schooling in Ecuador, from ages 8 to 10, and is barely literate in Spanish, Ms. Bluestone said.

She said he told her in the interview that “he was chosen by his parents to work and emigrate to the United States because he was one of the brighter members of the family and a good provider.”

Mr. Guaman found work and obtained illegal documents, hitchhiked into the country on a ship from Mexico, moved to an Ecuadorian enclave in Milford, found an apartment and worked as a laborer. He sent for his wife and brother to join him two years after his arrival. Ms. Bluestone also said he took care of his 7-year-old child while his wife worked and was active in his church.

Despite Ms. Bluestone's assessment that Mr. Guaman's deficits were largely cultural and language-based, when asked by Mr. Travers whether she could state with a reasonable degree of certainty whether Mr. Guaman was competent to stand trial, she answered, “I don't think I can give you an opinion on that ultimate legal question.”

The prosecution must demonstrate the preponderance of the evidence shows Mr. Guaman is competent to stand trial, according to Judge Kenton-Walker.

Mr. Ettenberg said on cross-examination: “So right now he's not competent.”

Ms. Bluestone answered that Mr. Guaman's gaps in understanding appeared to stem from lack of familiarity with the legal system, which could be accommodated with support.

She said Mr. Guaman understood that there had been an accident and there was a death, and if someone is found guilty, “they go to jail.”

But she said he was reluctant to provide incriminating answers about the crash, his previous run-ins with the law and his alcohol use. In those situations, she said, “It's very difficult to ascertain whether he doesn't want to give an answer or he doesn't know (the answer).”

“He's not competent to stand trial,” concluded the defense witness, Paul A. Spiers, a practicing clinical and neuropsychologist who has a doctorate degree and is on the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine.

“His conceptual ability is inadequate to understand these concepts,” Mr. Spiers said. “He's not able to stay focused on what the relevant question is before him.”

Mr. Spiers said Mr. Guaman's confusion during his booking by Milford police might have been caused by partial seizures similar to epilepsy and to a likely genetic deficiency in metabolizing alcohol.

Mr. Spiers based his opinion on medical records, an interview with Mr. Guaman, which was conducted with a native Venezuelan Spanish-speaking neuropsychologist, and standardized tests on which Mr. Guaman scored extremely low.

Those tests were conducted in Spanish and were based on “normed” results from Spanish-speaking Americans.

On cross-examination, Mr. Spiers said that the standardized tests used a reading level of Grade 5 or 6, higher than Mr. Guaman's roughly Grade 2 level.

Maureen Maloney, Mr. Denice's mother and a nurse practitioner, said after the hearing that she didn't think the defense's tools could accurately assess Mr. Guaman's competency.

“I'm very concerned. I think it could go either way,” she said about the hearing. “I feel today is a big hurdle in that we finally got through the competency hearing. It's moving forward a tiny step.”

Michael Maloney, Mr. Denice's stepfather, said, “The fact that he (Mr. Guaman) lived in a third-world country… you can't hold him to the same standards as an American (for testing).”

Mr. and Mrs. Maloney said they were disappointed that Ms. Bluestone “didn't come right out to say he was competent to stand trial,” but that she relayed the message throughout her testimony.

The Maloneys attended the hearing with Mr. Denice's girlfriend and Marie Parente, who represented Milford in the state House of Representatives from 1980 to 2006.

Ms. Parente said she had been working on illegal immigration issues for years.

“There is a pathway, a right pathway to citizenship. It's not punishment, it's an education,” she said. “It's a social compact that we're going to live together under these rules.”

Ms. Parente estimated 3,500 Ecuadorians live in Milford.

Contact Susan Spencer by email at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG.